Oxnard public works director quits amid criticism

Oxnard's embattled Public Works Director Ken Ortega, who has overseen some of the city's most ambitious projects over the past five years, quit late Tuesday.

The resignation came just two days after The Star reported that Ortega failed to report gifts — meals, golf games and tickets to the Lakers and Dodgers — from consultants doing business with the city.

Ortega said his resignation had nothing to do with the newspaper article.

"This has really been boiling for some time now," he said Wednesday.

His decision stems from what he feels is a lack of support and outright hostility from City Manager Ed Sotelo.

"I find that I can no longer tolerate working in a hostile environment that neither respects my personal commitment or professional capabilities," Ortega said in his resignation letter to Sotelo. "The constant barrage of baseless allegations, rumor mongering, knee-jerk reactions, misrepresentations of fact, calculated character attacks, and personal disregard and disrespect for me as a working professional has finally become more than I can take."

Sotelo said he couldn't discuss the resignation because it is a personnel matter.

"I can confirm that he submitted his resignation, but I can't say more than that," he said.

Ortega, public works director since 2005, earned salary and benefits that totaled about $150,000 a year.

His resignation caught some city leaders off guard. On Tuesday, Ortega spent the afternoon with City Councilman Bryan MacDonald going over road projects. He never let on that anything was amiss, MacDonald said.

"We were looking at different areas in Oxnard where there are traffic improvements planned, and he didn't mention anything," he said. "He was a consummate professional."

Mayor Tom Holden said he was surprised and concerned about Ortega's decision.

"He's a very bright, creative and visionary guy," said Holden, adding that he is concerned about whether some of the massive water and traffic improvement projects overseen by Ortega would be hurt by his departure.

Key project led to issues

Ortega, 45, ran a department that at its peak included about 450 people. Public Works now has about half that number of employees, after budget cuts and the breaking off of the parks division. With a budget of $110 million, the Public Works Department is still the largest city department.

Hired from Santa Paula 11 years ago, Ortega rose quickly up the ranks going from water superintendent to director of the Public Works Department. At times, his name was mentioned as a possible successor to Sotelo as city manager. Several city officials said they believe that rumor may have soured Ortega's relationship with Sotelo.

Ortega, a civil engineer, helped usher through what may be Oxnard's most ambitious project to date, the Ground Water Recovery Enhancement and Treatment, or GREAT. More than a decade in the planning and construction, the $250 million project combines wastewater recycling, desalination of groundwater, groundwater injection and storage that planners hope will meet the city's future demand for water without having to import more supplies.

The Star confirmed that contractors on that project were involved in providing a handful of mostly undocumented gifts, including tickets for Ortega and a project manager in his department, Juan Moreno, to a Lakers game in 2006.

The tickets and a limousine were paid for by the company Kennedy/Jenks, an engineering consulting firm involved in the city's effort to redesign its water supply and conveyance system. The firm has done engineering consulting work for the city on several projects, including a 2007 contract for more than $3 million of work on the recently opened desalter plant.

Ortega also received skybox tickets to a Lakers game in January from the law firm Brownstein, Farber, Schreck and Hyatt, which has worked closely with the city over the past decade on water issues.

Ortega said he didn't report the gifts because his understanding of the California Fair Political Practices Commission rule is that he didn't need to unless they totaled more than about $420 in a single year from a single source.

But public officials with contracting authority must disclose all gifts of $50 or more, according to the FPPC. They also cannot accept more than $420 cumulatively from a single source in a single year.

Resignation tied to health

While he has been praised for managing technically and politically complex engineering projects, Ortega also has hit several other bumps in the road over the years. In 2004, Ortega won election to the El Rio School Board but was recalled two years later. As public works director, he was criticized for hiring an outside public affairs consultant and again when one of his managers was fired for a botched purchase of trash trucks.

Last year, the city was conducting an internal investigation into cost overruns and contract changes on the city's new desalter plant. That resulted in Ortega getting reprimanded and the project manager, Moreno, being terminated. The city has since tightened its rules regarding contracts and improved oversight.

Still, Ortega had managed to maintain the confidence of the City Council. He also has been able to find creative ways to obtain state and federal financing for big-ticket items, such as the GREAT project, road improvement projects and, most recently, a plan to improve energy efficiency. That program, involving retrofitting city buildings, would be paid for through future savings on electricity and gas.

Talking about his decision Wednesday, Ortega said he suffers from hypertension and is moving on for the sake of his own health.

"Trust that my decision to resign was one of necessity for the sake of both my physical and mental health," he said in an e-mail he sent to friends and shared with The Star. "My decision was probably long overdue and should have been made back in 2007, when I first started enduring the many issues and challenges imposed upon me by the City Manager and his administration.

"Simply put, my choice to separate from the City of Oxnard had nothing to do with the recent newspaper article and had everything to do with the final realization that my professional services to the City of Oxnard were no longer valued and/or desired."

Ortega will continue to work until June 10. He said he has no immediate plans to take another job.